Improvement iw skating-rinks



nMInBpRGIN, or NEW YORK, N Y.

iMiRovEMENT in sKATlNe-mnke.

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 187,59, dated February20, 1877; application filed January 27, 1877.

To all whom tt ma/y concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL BRGIN, now of the city, county, and State ofNew York, a citizen of the Republic of Switzerland, am the inventor ofcertain Improvements in Artificial-Ice Skating-Rinks, of which thefollowing is a specilication, reference being had to the drawings,forming part thereof', in which- Figure l is a perspective view of therink, on a small scale, embodying or representing my invention. Fig. 2is a cross-section of the lsame on line w Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an end viewof the corrugated sheet, showing the corrugations made angularly; andFig. 4 is also an end view ot' thev corrugated sheet, showing thecorrugations made curved.

My invention relates to -skatingrinks. in which the ice is produced byartilicial means; and consists in a rink constructed with a floor,underlying the ice and overlying the refrigerating-reservoir, that iscomposed ot' corrugated metal, in the manner hereinafter particularlydescribed.

A is a tank or basin of suitable dimensions for a skating-rink-length,depth, and breadth-to hcld the refrigerating-iiuid by which theartificial ice of the rink is to be produced. lThis is to be made, ofcourse, water-tight, ard, preferably of some material that shall havebut little heat-conducting property.l B is a ioor or foundation of sheetmetal, that is laid down upon the oor of the tank A. It is curved upwardat each edge, ot' two sides, a and b, and is also either curved, as thetwo other sides or ends, or is furnished with side-or inner walls, asshown in the drawings, so ,that the whole shall form a shallowwater-tank or receptacle for the water which is to form the ice in therink. This sheet is to be corrugated, as represented in the drawings,the corrugations running from one curved edge to the opposite ones, andthey may be either angular, as shown in Fig. 3, or curved, as shown inFig. 4, or in any other analogous form. As is evident, thesecorrugations form, as the sheet is laid on the bottom of the tank,channels through which water may flow from one side of the tank to theother, while the lower angle or curve of the corrugation rests on thebottom of the C is a pipe for inducting the refrigerating'- uid,into thetank, and leads into the horizontal pipe D, through which and thebranches c c cc the said liuid is distributed through the whole lengthof the tank, and is discharged into it at one side, between the curvededge ot' the corrugated plate B and the wall of the tank. E is a gutteror conductor arranged on the opposite side of the rink from the pipe O,and so placed as to receive and lead away the refrigerating-tluid as itoverows from the tank.

The door ot' the tank on theside next the gutter is raised somewhat, asshown at F, and the elevation at this line should be sufticient toinsure the complete lling of the channels underneath the plate B, madeby the corrugat-ions of said plate. rlhe gutter E leads into adischarge-pipe or a reservoir, G, from which it is intended the fluid,after having passed through the tank and discharged its ofiice ot'refrigerating, shall be pumped into a refrigerating apparatus, to bethere cooled, and then returned through the pipe C,

conductor D, again into the tank.

Any known apparatus for producing artilicial cold may be employed torefrigerate the said duid.

The water to form the ice of the rink is to be introduced in anysuitable way into the rink and allowed to overflow the upper surfaceofthe plate B, and should be ot' suflicient depth to lill thecorrugations and extend somewhat above the upper angles or curves ot'the same.

The refrigerating-iuid may be 'salt water, or glycerine water, or anytluid which is congealed at a much lower temperature than water itself,so that when such iiuid of lower temperature is brought into contactwith the lower surface oi' the bed or plate B, it will conduct away theheat ot the water lying on said plates, and thereby congeal it.

rihe advantages of a corrugated hed-plate or tloor underlying the ice,and on which it is formed, are obvious. It may permit a free,uninterrupted tlow ot' the refrigerating-luid beneath it, and allows thesaid iiuid to come into contact with the whole under surface of saidplate or iioor, excepting just along the line where the lower angles orcurves rest on In a skating-rink, the tank A, the corrugated bed-plateB, and suitable inlet and outlet fluid-cond actors, all constructed andcombined to operate substantially as described.

Witness my hand this 22d day of January,

EMIL BRGIN.

Witnesses z,

B. S. CLARK, M. F. CLIFTON.

